


Death at Galveston

by SSCEJM4A



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Mystery, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-07-29 18:04:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20086480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SSCEJM4A/pseuds/SSCEJM4A
Summary: Bucky and his wife, Samantha, members of the Secret Avengers, are sent on a mission to investigate several suspicious deaths in Galveston, Texas. Suspecting HYDRA, they're surprised to find something else is the cause - something strange and terrifying. With their lives at risk, will they be able to break whatever is cursing the beachfront city? Read to find out!





	1. Chapter 1

Stepping off the plane in Galveston, Texas was like stepping into an oven. Blistering heat, suffocating humidity…Samantha Barnes could almost feel her skin burn beneath the uninhibited sun. She looked ahead at Bucky. He was wearing his usual all black ensemble, head-to-foot, and she wondered how the winter soldier was managing the excessive temps.

Samantha had chosen light colors, a pale blue tank paired with khaki shorts and white flip flops. Bucky carried his suitcase and another case full of their personally chosen arsenal. Samantha wore a backpack and carried two pieces of luggage – her necessities.

They were in Galveston on mission, secret work with the Secret Avengers, assembled months before by Steve and Natasha. A series of unexplained deaths had occurred in the area and HYDRA was suspect. It was Mr. and Mrs. Barnes duty to find the link between the victims and scare whatever remnant of HYDRA that was hiding, out into the open for the proper authorities to apprehend.

They’d taken a small plane from Oklahoma City to Galveston, after more than six previous stops from New York. There were no Quinjets available and they couldn’t fly commercial without being noticed, especially Bucky and his metal arm. So they hired either people who flew crop dusters or private planes owned by flying enthusiasts to get them from one small airfield to the next. It’d been an adventure already.

Samantha continued following Bucky toward the small, barnlike hangar. “Did Motorentals confirm?” she asked.

He was sweating buckets. The cases he carried felt like 10 ton weights in the heat. He didn’t pause in his steps to answer, merely grunting a “yes” and picking up speed.

Samantha smirked. She’d told him to dress lightly.

As they neared the hangar, she groaned. Motorentals had delivered all right, a black, two-seater that looked like it would make more racket than the crop duster they took over the fields of Kentucky. It had a dented bumper and filthy windows. There were scratches all over the passenger side. She rolled her eyes and looked up to the cloudless sky. “We’re doomed to terrifying transportation once again.”

Bucky laughed but he had his own worries. A two-seater? He knew he’d ordered a sedan with a large trunk. He walked around to the back and sighed. “You might have to hold your suitcases in your lap.”

“Ha! Your wife is much more thoughtful than that, my darling. I brought roof-rack straps. We can, well…maybe we can strap some of it on top?”

Now standing in the shadow of the hangar, he looked at her, his teeth white against his tanned face. “You think of everything.” He gave a worried look at the roof and shrugged. “We’ll give it a try. Worst case, it’ll cave in on us and be in our laps anyway.”

Samantha shook her head, laughing. “I guess you really do get what you pay for, eh?”

“I asked for a sedan. He was the one who told me I could get one cheap.”

“I know but did that guy really sound like he knew what a sedan was?”

He laughed again and dropped both cases, the sound echoing in the metal structure. “When I think about it? No, he didn’t.” He glanced around. “We should get going.”

She nodded and after some maneuvering, rearranging, tugging on straps, and battling manual windows, they stored the arsenal case in the back and managed to position three pieces of luggage on top of the ridiculous car. Samantha would hold her backpack in her lap.

Before they climbed in, she asked, “Did you check for a floorboard or are we going to have to do the whole Flintstone thing?”

His eyes grew wide and he leaned into the driver’s side window. “Floorboards!”

“Thank you, Motorentals! Let’s go!” She lifted a fist in victory.

They climbed in and Bucky cranked the engine. It roared to life and they looked at each other in surprise before crumbling into laughter.

\---

Six days passed and they’d collected detailed information from all 11 victims’ families.

Bucky sat on their hotel bed in navy blue pajama pants, tablet in hand. He was swiping through the pages of notes Samantha had taken. She stood in the bathroom, brushing through her hair after having dried it.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he said, almost to himself.

“What’s that?”

“None of these deaths sound like HYDRA to me.”

She stepped out of the bathroom and leaned her shoulder against the wall. “Maybe they changed their tactics? Why would everyone at SA headquarters put these deaths on HYDRA?”

He looked at her. “Because they don’t know all this?” He held up the tablet.

She walked over and climbed onto the bed, moving her chocolate brown hair over one shoulder. “Okay. That’s true. So what is it about them that makes you doubt?”

He furrowed his brow. “Well, first of all, they’re all…regular people. An air compressor mechanic, a school teacher, a nurse, a gardener, a lifeguard, a homemaker, a local artist, a grocery store cashier, a gas station attendant, a waiter, and a shoe salesman? What reason would HYDRA have for going after them?”

She tilted her head, reading over his shoulder. “None of them are first or even second generation foreigners, either. No Russians or Germans in the bunch.”

“Exactly. If HYDRA were cleaning house, there’s no doubt in my mind these people would be connected to some kind of tech or foreign relations. HYDRA doesn't go after just anyone.”

“They did have something in common, though.”

Bucky ran his hand through his hair and nodded. “I know. They were all either spotted at or talked about going to that beach that was closed off over a decade ago. But no one knows why.”

“And that beach has absolutely zero connections to HYDRA whatsoever.”

“None.” He frowned.

She shivered a bit. “So weird.” She checked her watch and then retrieved the tablet from his hand. “It’s late, Mr. Barnes. Time for bed. We can work on solving the mystery some more tomorrow.”

She set the tablet on the nightstand, plugging it into its charger, and when she turned back to him, he was smiling at her.

“You’re beautiful, you know?” he said.

She chewed her bottom lip, a grin curling the corners of her mouth. “Thanks, babe.” She climbed onto his lap, straddling him and ran her hands over his chest. “You’re damned handsome yourself.” She leaned in and kissed him.

He sat up, returning the kiss, his arms wrapping around her. They lost themselves to passion, the mystery forgotten for the time being.

\---

Sunlight pierced through the crack in the middle of the blackout curtains and landed right on Samantha’s face.

“Ugh!” she groaned, rolling to her side. “Remind me to pick up some binder clips today. I keep forgetting and that sun kills me, every morning.”

He turned and scooted up behind her, his metal arm curling around her waist. He placed a kiss on her neck and sighed. “Right. Binder clips. Evil sun.”

She reached back, her hand in his hair. “I do love it when you’re feeling cuddly. Imagine, the winter soldier, sniper extraordinaire, battled Thanos and his minions and lived to tell the tale…snuggling.”

He chuckled against her. “You battled him, too.”

“Hell yeah, I did. We kicked his big purple butt.”

“Big purple butt?” He smiled against her skin. “Well, it helped when you came up with the idea to beat him to the reality stone and destroy it. My brilliant wife…” He kissed her neck again.

“Um, darling? You, Shuri, and T'Challa came up with the plan for stealing the power stone back. If you three hadn’t done that, then we would never have made it to the reality stone to begin with.”

He sighed, “I love it when we relive our victories. We make a good team.”

“Mmm. We sure do.” She turned, hiding behind his shoulder from the sun and pressed a kiss to his lips. “In more ways than one.”

He looked at her. “If he’d been able to…to snap half the population away…” His eyes searched her face. “If you had vanished and left me behind.” He touched her cheek. “I don’t know how I would’ve…” his voice faded.

“I know.” She kissed him again. “You don’t have to tell me. There were no scenarios that we could’ve lived with but he’s dead and the remaining stones are safely stored away. That's all that matters.”

He smirked. “You know. You’d think with the way we all came together and defeated Thanos, Secretary Ross would ease up about the Accords.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, right. He hates Steve. That’s clear. It’s become a vendetta, one that he's never lost against Bruce, as well. He’s a vengeful man who needs to get a grip.”

Bucky smiled. “Indeed.”

She covered his smiling face and laughed. “Oh, Mr. Barnes, you do love it when I get cross.”

“It’s cute.” He shrugged.

She moved her hand, planted a kiss on his grinning mouth, and slid out of bed. “Guess we should get this day started, huh?”

He perched on his elbow and watched her. “I guess we should…”

\---

After breakfast in the small diner attached to the hotel, they sat sipping coffee and talking more about what they’d discovered thus far.

One of the patrons sitting close by leaned toward them. “It’s that map,” he whispered.

Bucky furrowed his brow. “Excuse me?”

The man looked around and then scooted his chair closer to their booth. “There’s a map, a supposed treasure map. It’s making rounds but it’s cursed.”

Bucky nearly dropped his coffee cup and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry?”

Samantha reached over and covered Bucky’s hand. Nodding at the man, she held in a chuckle and said, “A cursed map with a treasure on it? Thank you, uh…?”

“Name’s Harvey. My cousin was the first one who fell to the curse, the mechanic? Johnny Williams?” He nodded and then glanced around again. Lowering his voice, he continued, “See. He found the map in the wall of this old warehouse on County Road 3121? Zentex bought the place and he was putting an air compressor in it. He found the map and said it led to a treasure.” He dropped his gaze. “He didn’t know it was cursed, a’course.”

Bucky looked at Samantha and then back to Harvey. “Do you, uh, know where this map is now?”

Harvey shook his head. “No one does. That shoe salesman, last name Garvey? I remember ‘cause of my name matching it.” He smiled. “He had it last and they found him dead, but there was no map around.”

Samantha tapped out what Harvey was saying into the tablet as fast as her fingers would go. She looked at him. “What makes you think it’s cursed, exactly?”

“My cousin told me so but it was too late for him.”

Bucky shook his head. “He told you?”

“Sure. He didn’t want none of us to try and find the map when he was found dead.”

Bucky scoffed and lifted a hand up. “I’m sorry but what made it cursed? How did it…how did the curse, um, show itself?”

Harvey waved his hand around in front of his eyes. “Made him see things, weird images. Spooked him real bad. He didn’t sleep after, just kept digging holes on that beach.”

Samantha sat back, letting out a breath. “None of the people we talked to this week said anything about a map.”

“Who’d you talk to?” Harvey asked.

“Family,” Bucky grunted, narrowing his eyes him. “Is this some kind of joke?”

Harvey folded his arms. “You the cops?”

“No…no.” Samantha glanced around. “No, but we’re here to help…find the answers. If this is just some story you’ve made up, trying to fool the newcomers.”

Harvey pushed his filthy ballcap back and leaned his arms on their table. “Miss? If none of them people you talked to mentioned the map that’s cuz they weren’t told about it. Johnny told me the day he found it. We were close but maybe he was ‘fraid of telling anyone else. I don’t know. All I know is he said he saw something in the map. It scared him. He said he was going to die and he did.”

Samantha looked over at Bucky and shrugged. “It’s worth exploring?”

Bucky nodded and let out a sigh. “Sorry for losing my temper before, Harvey. Thanks for the information.” He stuck out his hand and Harvey shook it.

“If you can find out if what Johnny told me was right and can keep anyone else from dying, why I guess that’s all that matters.” He stood and pushed his chair back to his table. He dropped some bills on his check and then turned back. Leaning in close, he whispered, “But if you find that map…don’t look at it.”

Samantha swallowed. “R…right. Thank you.”

Bucky waited until Harvey pushed through the double doors, the shopkeeper’s bell ringing, to face Samantha again. “What a bunch of bullsh – ”

“Bucky,” she sighed. “I know it sounds ridiculous but…” she rolled her lips and looked around the diner.

“But? You believe that guy?”

She shrugged. “It is weird that none of the other people in Johnny’s family mentioned a map.”

“Not a single person in any of the families even hinted at one.”

“But each person was found at that beach, their deaths a mystery.”

Bucky took the tablet and slid through the notes. “No holes, Samantha. No holes. No shovels. No map.” He looked over at the front doors. “Maybe old Harvey just created the story as part of his grief? Who knows.”

Samantha frowned. “Well, to be fair, we didn’t ask anyone about a map.”

Bucky huffed out a laugh. “It’s crazy. A cursed map that kills people? I mean, don’t you think it’s a bit farfetched?”

“Is it?” She leaned forward. “A little over a year ago, you picked up a talking raccoon who joined the fray from outer space and the two of you spun in a circle, Maria von Trapp-style, both of you shooting at aliens on a battlefield in a hidden, extremely-innovative African nation that’s run by a king who consumed a magical heart-shaped herb and who wears a technologically-advanced black panther uniform.”

“Fair enough,” Bucky said, grinning. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look into it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they go through the information they've collected about the victims, some things are becoming clear. Then, they catch a break of sorts, but will it help them or hurt them? Read on to find out!

After breakfast, Bucky sat at the small round table in their room, jotting down names on a piece of hotel stationery. “So every victim essentially disappeared from their daily routines six days before they were found dead on that abandoned, barricaded beach.”

“Mm hmm,” Samantha grunted. She was bent over, tugging their arsenal case out from under the bed.

“And there have been anywhere from two to five days from when the bodies were found to when the next person disappeared.” He stared at the list he’d made on the paper.

“Right.” Samantha heaved the case onto the bed and unlocked it, staring down at the rectangular box with a scowl.

Bucky tossed his pen on the table and sighed, “I don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

“Why was that information redacted in the files Nat found online?”

She put her hands on her hips and huffed, “No idea. Made sense, when we thought it was HYDRA.”

He turned and opened his mouth to speak but stopped before a word formed. He furrowed his brow and then chuckled. “What’s wrong?”

She lifted a hand and let it drop. “I think we brought all this for nothing.”

He smirked and slid out of his chair, walking over to her. “I don’t know. Maybe the scary cursed map will be unruly and need a couple rounds blown through it.”

She shook her head and looked at him. “You still not buying Harvey’s story?” She closed the case, locked it, and then shoved it back under the bed.

He crossed his arms. “No. Not yet.”

“It would _kind of_ add up, though, right? Everyone going missing for six days...”

Bucky sat on the bed. “Go on.”

“Well, think about it. Let’s say, Johnny finds the map in the abandoned warehouse, tells Harvey, and then talks about that beach. He goes missing for six days and is found dead there.” She walked over to her tablet and picked it up. Sliding her finger up on the screen, she continued, “Two days after Johnny is found, Mary Martinez tells her mom that she’s taking a trip out to that beach to hunt for seashells. No one hears from her again for six days, until they find her…her body there. Then,” she swiped up, “four days after she was found, George Davis quits his nursing job at the hospital and mentions _that_ beach to a friend. He’s not seen from again, until six days later, they find him…”

Bucky stood and began to pace. “I’m following you now. The, uh, the gardener – ”

“Geraldine O’Connor,”

“Right. Two days after George was found, she told her daughter she was going to try cleaning up that beach, she wasn’t heard from again for – ”

“Six days.” Samantha then rattled off the rest of the names, “Joe Rodriguez, mentions the beach three days after Geraldine was found; Sue Wyler, five days after Joe; Paul Middleton, three days after Sue; Brie Smith, four days after Paul; Gus Vines, two days after Brie; William Burke, three days after Gus; and Carl Yancy, two days after William.” She looked up at her husband, who’d paused in his tracks.

“And all went missing for six days, until they were found…deceased.”

She swallowed and nodded. “Seems way too coincidental to me. The existence of that map would tie it up neatly.”

He ran his hand down his face and nodded. “You’ve sold me. We need to find it.”

\---

Seven sweltering hours of searching the littered beach – only breaking for lunch – and they’d discovered nothing. It’d been 11 days since Carl was found, lying face down near a large sand dune, a few feet from where the others had also been located.

“Maybe whatever curse the map had in it has been satisfied?” Samantha said, looking around at the piles of debris they'd made as they searched.

“Unless someone found it five days after Carl was found and they’re on their sixth day.”

She frowned. “But no one’s been reported missing, have they?”

“I don’t know. I get the feeling the police aren’t telling us everything.”

“There _has_ been a lot of push-back from the Captain of the department, huh?”

Bucky shrugged. “Sometimes the ones who live here and deal with this stuff day-to-day don’t want outsiders coming in and taking the glory when they solve cases.”

“_These _cases are so bizarre, though. You’d think they’d welcome all the help they could get,” she huffed. “Anyway, there’s still a chance that the map finished whatever death knell it was ringing and vanished for good, right?”

“It’s possible, sure. One way or the other, we need to figure out what happened. The coroner couldn’t even determine a cause of death.”

“But if the map is gone…how do we –?”

Bucky let out a sigh through his nose and then stared out over the water. The sun barely held onto the horizon, sending streaks of color out to paint the clouds pink and orange. If it weren’t for the trash all around, the rusted out cars behind him, and the _smell_, it might’ve been beautiful.

Samantha dodged a few pieces of broken glass to stand next to him, wrapping one arm around his waist. “Whatcha thinking about?”

He dropped his gaze and searched her face. “Their families deserve answers.”

She nodded. “Then let’s keep looking until we find them.”

\---

They searched for another hour before calling it a night. Bucky dropped Samantha off at the hotel and went to pick up a few supplies and then hunt for some fast food for a late dinner. She showered and changed clothes and then curled up on the bed with the tablet, reading through her notes for the hundredth time.

When she heard the old-style key in the door, she dropped the tablet and slid off the bed to meet Bucky there and help him with the drinks and food. They ate quickly and Bucky jumped in the shower, eager to wash the sand and sweat away.

After relaxing for a few minutes, she picked up the fast food bag to load wrappers and used napkins into it. She then turned her attention to the plastic bags Bucky had brought in from his shopping trip.

One bag held more shower supplies, which made her chuckle. The second had some light-colored shirts and shorts for him, another quiet laugh. She opened the last bag and peered inside. A smirk curled her lips. She found a package of binder clips and a package of opened post-it notes. One of the yellow squares was stuck to the clips. On it Bucky had drawn a sun with a mean face and then a circle with a slash over it. In the lower corner, he’d drawn a small heart and the letter “B.”

She looked over her shoulder toward the bathroom and huffed out a laugh. “My sweet, thoughtful…_dork_.” She chewed her lower lip and opened the package, happily clipping the blackout curtains closed. She stuck the post-it in the middle of the table and smiled.

Bucky stepped out of the bathroom, freshly showered, towel tied around his waist and a smaller one on his head. He tousled it over his hair and then looked up at her and chuckled. “Oh, good, you found them.”

He walked over to stand next to her and nodded his approval. “That’ll be much better in the morning.”

“Indeed,” she sighed. When she glanced over at him, her breath caught.

He grinned at her. “Like what you see, Mrs. Barnes?”

She turned to face him and took the ends of the smaller towel, which hung around the back of his neck, and pulled him to her. Planting a firm kiss on his mouth, she gazed up at him. “This is not a vacation,” she said more to herself than to him and she pouted.

“No,” he sighed, “it’s not.”

“We’re here on a...a mission.”

His grin turned mischievous and his eyes flashed. “Yes…only to, uh, to work a mission.”

She sighed, “There’s lots to talk a…about and we keep getting, um, distracted.”

He inched his body closer to hers. “True. This is a big case – a complete mystery. Cursed map, littered beach…” his voice faded as he leaned in to kiss her.

She released the towel and wrapped her arms around his neck, returning the kiss.

He lifted her off the ground and walked her over to the bed. As she laid back and he hovered over her, she felt his still damp hair tickle her face. “Damn, I love you, Mr. Barnes.” Before he could say anything, she pulled him into another kiss and they lost themselves to the moment.

\---

“Thank goodness for screen protectors,” Samantha sighed, staring down at the cracked plastic over the tablet. During their romp, they’d rolled over to where she’d left it lying on the bed.

Bucky smirked. “It’s kinda nice to know that even the sound of a cracking tablet doesn’t deter you.”

She laid the tablet on the nightstand and turned on her side to face him. “Nothing could pull my attention away from you.”

He grinned and touched her face. “Same.”

She let out a satisfied sigh. “Guess we should get some sleep so we can hit the pavement in the morning. You think?”

He nodded and they both slid out of bed, cleaning up and finishing their nighttime routine. When they crawled back into the king-sized bed, Samantha scooted up behind him and put one arm around his waist. She snuggled against him and yawned. Within minutes, they were both fast asleep.

\---

A light knocking on the door woke Bucky. He sucked in a breath and looked over at Samantha. She was lying on her stomach, arms beneath her pillow, hair splayed across it. The soft sounds of her breathing told him she was still out.

He slid from the bed and donned his robe, tying it at the waist. He looked through the peephole. A petite blonde stood there fidgeting. He glanced back at the clock. It was well past four in the morning. He opened the door, stepped outside, and then shut it with a soft click. “May I help you?” he whispered.

“I’m…I’m sorry to bother you. It’s just…” she glanced around, “my name is Julie. My husband, Kurt, is missing and I heard you were, uh, helping the police with Mary Martinez’s death at that deserted beach?”

Bucky’s mouth dropped. “How did you hear about – ?” While the deaths had made the news, the details, like where the people had been found, weren’t widely shared.

“I’m a friend of Mary’s sister, Bianca,” she sighed, frowning. “Her and her mother told me what happened.”

Bucky crossed his arms and nodded. “And you think your husband…”

“He said his company was doing a big beach clean-up and he was helping.” She hugged herself. “I asked him why they’d do that when there’d been so much police activity around – I didn’t know there’d been a death there, yet – and he said the police had asked the company to do it.”

“But you found out that wasn’t true.”

“Uh, yeah. When he didn’t come home, I called his boss. Then, I said something to Bianca about it, when I was over there delivering a meal. I told her how Kurt had lied and hadn’t been home in a couple of days. That’s when they sat me down and shared what happened to Mary. I reported Kurt missing to the police. They’ve been searching since last Thursday and nothing. The beach seems empty.”

_Four days plus the two he’s already been missing_. Bucky ran a hand down his face. That meant Kurt had found the map five days after Carl was found dead, just as he and Samantha had calculated. So much for the map being “satisfied.” He cleared his throat and nodded. “Seems to fit with the others.”

She tilted her head. “Others? You mean, those other unexplained deaths were the same? I knew it...” Her face turned visibly white under the glow of the light outside the hotel door. She covered her mouth with her hand as tears sprang up. “Can you help me? Help me find him before something…something happens?”

It was probably too late. He knew that but he didn’t have the heart to tell her. “Let me wake my wife. We’ll go searching now.” He patted her shoulder. “Try not to worry. Wait at the police station and we’ll send word there, if we find anything. Okay?”

“Thank you.” She started to walk away but turned on her heel. “You’re…you’re Captain America’s best friend, aren’t you?”

He gave her a small smile. “One of them.”

“The Winter Soldier.” She bit her lower lip. “You’re one of the good guys now. I know what you did for us, you and your wife, all of you.”

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his robe and shrugged. “It’s what we do.”

She stared at him for a moment, tears glistening in her eyes. “Thanks.”

“We’ll let you know just as soon as we find him. Stay at the station with the police, all right?”

“I will.” She walked to her car and climbed inside. When she started it, Bucky turned and slipped back into the room.

Samantha was sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes. “Who was that?”

“Get dressed. I’ll explain everything on the way.”

“On the way? Where?”

“To that damn beach.”

\---

Despite the fact that the beach had been searched and found empty several times, by them and by the police, Bucky felt strongly that they would find Kurt there. The only question was what state he’d be in. He frowned, letting a curse slip free.

He’d filled Samantha in on his and Julie’s conversation and the reasons why he felt strongly that the beach was the place to go. Samantha agreed with him.

Bucky parked the car by an abandoned lifeguard stand. The sand was shallow there and the stand gave a nice cover.

They exited the car and walked around a bend toward the faded and cracked NO TRESPASSING sign that hung on a thick chain attached to two metal poles. They could hear the sound of someone shoveling sand but couldn’t see them. They stepped over the chain and followed the noise down toward an outcropping of rocks.

They rounded the craggy hill and found a rusted out two-door car with busted windows just ahead. Bucky held up his hand for them to wait. He was trying to pinpoint exactly where the sound was coming from because, as the beach lay mostly wide open from there, they still couldn’t see anyone.

The crescent moon gave off very little light. The sound of shovel to sand continued to filter across the littered beach. Samantha shook her head. They’d searched in this very spot earlier that day. If these people were going missing, presumably to dig for treasure, why were they only finding the latest one _now_? Based on what Julie had told Bucky, Kurt was on his sixth and final day – if the curse proved true. Where had he been the other five days?

“This way,” Bucky whispered, pointing toward the car.

She followed closely behind him. He stopped and leaned against the car, pulling her with him, as they slid down. “I think he’s on the other side of that dune.” He frowned. “That’s where the others…”

She nodded. “Sounds like it.”

The car’s deflated tires had sunk down into the sand, so that the car made for a good place to hide. Bucky needed to _think_ about what to do next. 

Kurt was digging and muttering something unintelligible. Suddenly, a scream ripped from his lungs, making Samantha and Bucky jump.

“I…I can’t! I can’t find it!”

More digging.

“What do you want from me!?” His voice was pleading but also laced with anger. “No! Leave me alone! I will! I will find it!”

Samantha covered her mouth with both hands. Kurt sounded like he was in excruciating pain. Out of instinct, Bucky shifted to cover Samantha with his metal arm and began hovering over her – just in time.

The wind kicked up, sending sand and debris swirling all around them. Despite her efforts to stay quiet, Samantha screamed, as everything pelted them and beat against the car. The racket was almost unbearable. Bucky moved until he was practically on top of her, pressing her against the car. For the first time since they’d arrived, he was thankful he’d chosen to wear his usual protective black uniform.

A sound like a thousand voices crying out in pain filled their ears and Samantha began to cry from sheer terror. It went on for several minutes. They felt as if they were being lifted off the ground and then everything stopped.

The car rocked back and forth and Bucky let out a breath. “Are you okay?” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

“N…no. What in the hell _was_ that?”

He slowly stood, his body already aching from the beating it took. He wiped at his face with the top of his undershirt and put his hands out for his wife. When she grabbed them and he pulled her up, he let out a sigh of relief. It seemed his sheltering of her had worked pretty well. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped at her tears.

She looked at him with pity and then took the cloth to clean his face a bit more. “Are _you_ okay?”

He nodded. “As long as you are.” He shook the sand from his hair, as best he could before taking her hand and leading her away from the car. “Now, let’s see if we can find the answer to your first question.”

They trekked around the old car toward where they’d heard the screams. When they rounded the sand dune, Bucky stopped in his tracks. Samantha bumped into him and then peered around him.

“What…”

Moonlight fell eerily on a man, who looked no more than 30 years old. They could only assume it was indeed Kurt. He lay in the sand, a stricken look on his face. His eyes and mouth were wide open. No shovel. No holes. The sand was level, not even a footprint. There was an almost perfect wide circle around his body with no debris, except for a piece of tattered paper, folded in fourths.

Bucky released Samantha’s hand and lumbered over, crouching down to check Kurt’s pulse. He turned and shook his head. She covered her mouth, tears welling. He reached out to retrieve the folded paper.

“Bucky, don’t!” Samantha held out her hand.

“I’m not going to open it. Don’t worry.”

“I don’t even want you to _touch_ it,” said she. She trudged over and went to her knees next to him, putting her hand on his arm. “Just _leave_ it for the police.”

“I don’t trust anyone else with it, Samantha. There’s something cursed or evil about that map and it’s now killed 12 people. We’ve handled worse. If I can help steal the power stone and you can destroy the reality stone, we can deal with an old map.” He held out his left hand. “I’ll even use this hand. It’ll be fine.” He picked it up.

_Open me and see the treasure that awaits you._

He dropped it, his eyes wide. “What the hell?”

“What happened?”

He furrowed his brow. “I thought I…I heard something.” He picked up the paper again.

_See inside and all your dreams will come true._

He let it fall to the ground and shook his head.

“Did you hear it again? What did it sound like?”

He stared at the map. “A voice?”

She stood and pulled him up. “O – _kay_, we’re going to stand over _there_ and wait for the police. There’s no way all that screaming and wind and everything didn’t get someone’s attention.” She tugged her phone from her pocket. “And just in case,” she opened it and groaned, “damn. No bars. Well, the other people were found, so…”

“Shouldn’t we go _get _someone? Julie is waiting at the station. I told her we’d let her know as soon as…”

“But we can’t leave him. What if someone else finds that map?”

He glowered at it. “I’ll stay with Kurt. You, uh, you go get help.”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, I’m not leaving _you_ here by yourself.” He took her hand. “I’ll walk with you part of the way.”

Once he saw that she was in the car and the headlights beamed, he turned around and quickly headed back to the other side of the dune.

\---

Four police detectives followed her out to the beach, insisting that Julie stay behind, of course. A couple of officers had already shown up, thanks to some 911 calls, but they hadn't gone to investigate, yet. The detectives had been working the cases from day one and hearing that Samantha and Bucky had basically witnessed another death – had, at least, _heard_ it happen – made them want to solve the cases all the more.

The sun was beginning to crest over the gulf. She led them all to the beach, around the craggy outcropping of rocks and the old car, and then past the dune. There they found Bucky kneeling in the sand next to Kurt. His arms hung loosely at his sides and in his metal hand was the map. It was opened.

She gasped, a string of expletives falling from her lips. “Bucky, no. What did you do!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for stopping by to read my mini fic. If you like what you read, would you be so kind as to leave a comment? Authors live off of those, as I'm sure you know. :) Thank you!


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